Fire research pt. 2: Ghanaian cookstoves

Jason Burwen, a joint Master’s student in Public Policy and International and Area Studies, studies fire of a different sort—the fires that Sissali and Dagaare women of northern Ghana build daily to cook for their families.

Hawa Issifu cooking on an improved stove

The wood-burning cookstoves used in northern Ghana are crucial elements in local food production and culture, but they also have health and environmental impacts that make them the target for international development interventions. Wood-burning stoves contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and release particulate matter that is harmful to human health. Globally, exposure to indoor air pollution is one of the leading environmental causes of disease and one that disproportionately affects women and children. Jason was drawn to working on cookstoves because they sit at the nexus of so many different development issues: energy, environment, health, poverty, and gender. More generally, cookstoves have attracted the attention of researchers and practitioners alike because small improvements in cookstove technology and use promise to have meaningful impacts on people’s lives.

A training on stove construction in Gorima

Jason’s research is part of a collaboration between UC Berkeley, the Ghanaian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and Plan Ghana that aims to share both technology and knowledge with the women in these rural communities. Together they’re distributing improved cookstoves and providing training on how to build and use these stoves. The new stoves are designed to make a better fire and to vent smoke away from the user. In a better fire the combustion of the wood is more complete, which results in a more efficient use of the energy stored in the wood and the release of less particulate matter.

Within this context, Jason is evaluating the impacts of the improved cookstoves by quantifying their health and environmental impacts using a randomized-control field trial. In the field, he measured how much wood was burned and how much carbon monoxide women were exposed to while cooking a traditional meal. He is also using temperature sensors to record stove usage patterns. With this information and data from household surveys, Jason hopes to estimate the longitudinal impact of improved stoves on women and children’s health as well as their impact on the environment. At a larger scale, Jason is interested in the fate of wood in this system that does not get burned for cooking and what role training and education plays in the adoption of new technology.  While he and his fantastic undergraduate research assistant, Richard Tam, begin the work of assembling and analyzing a substantial data set on stove and fuel usage, Jason is still appreciating the practical education in international development he gained through his experience implementing trainings in stove construction and use for hundreds of women across several north Ghanaian villages.

Related:

• A video on stove making
• Berkeley’s International Public Policy Group
• Announcing a new feature: Research highlights
• Fire research pt. 1: Embers & ignition
• Fire research pt. 3: Fire in space
• Fire research pt. 4: Indigenous land management